Remember

Memorial Day is a day to remember those that served our country.  While we were out and about yesterday, we saw rows and rows of American Flags lining the sidewalks.  What a beautiful sight.  And seeing all those flags caused me to remember that my dad served, my father-in-law served, my brothers served and one of my sons served in the armed forces.   The flags brought the memory to mind.  Things we can see, hear or touch become symbols that remind us of events or people we love or goals, dreams or desires that are yet to come.  

I have a tiny jar that is filled with the black sand found on one of Maui's beaches.  It reminds me of our 25th anniversary trip to Hawaii and the sweet time of rejuvenating our marriage.   Many, many years ago, a friend gave me 3 large flat smooth stones.   I keep those stones on a shelf as a reminder of a friendship from long ago and all the fun we had working together.  4 pennies wrapped in tissue paper, a pine cone, a tiny Japanese doll, an angel statue, photographs, these are all reminders of people and events in my life.  And when asked where these things came from or why I keep them, I can tell the story.

"When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight."  So Joshua chose twelve men and gave them the Lord's instruction and Joshua gave them a reason for doing this.  "...to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.  These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."  Joshua 4:1-7

The symbols and mementos I have in my home are reminders of things from the past, just like the stones that were laid in Joshua's time.  What about remembering things desired or dreamed of for the future.   Goals set that we don't want to forget about.  I think it is also important to choose some symbols that will keep your dreams and goals for the future alive.  My husband had a desire to learn to play the banjo when he retired.  So he bought a banjo.  That is a big goal so he chose a big symbol.  And he didn't keep his banjo locked up and put away -- no -- it is sitting on a stand in his music room where he has seen it every day since we moved.  For now it has been collecting dust, BUT, he has signed up for banjo lessons and very soon it will be dusted off and we will be enjoying banjo music.   Seeing the symbol everyday kept his dream alive.

Dream of being a writer?  Choose a fancy pen and keep it on your desk.
Is your goal to get your college degree?  Print up a certificate with your name on it and post it where you will see it - maybe on the frig
Whatever you are dreaming of or aiming for be ever watchful for symbols you can use to keep those dreams and goals in front of you.   It's good to take a moment to stop and really look at those symbols once in a while and remember.  Revive that dream.  Get excited all over again.

Your dreams and goals, your desires can be realized with God's help and in His perfect timing.
Remember them.  Keep them alive.


"May He grant your heart's desires and make all your plans succeed.  May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.  May the Lord answer all your prayers."  Psalm 20: 4 & 5 

"Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desires.  Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust Him and He will help you."  Psalm 37: 4 & 5 

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you.  Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."  Isaiah 41:10

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."  Proverbs 16:3

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him."  Phil. 2:13

  

Perfect Lemon-Butter Chicken

The art of making lemon chicken actually taste lemony has always eluded me.  However, not one to be stopped by even several unsuccessful attempts, I gave it one more try.  I came across a recipe in the "Our Best Pinworthy Recipes" magazine I got free with my subscription to Family Circle.  I had everything the recipe called for - which wasn't much - except the lemons.  After asking hubby if he was game for another try at Lemon Chicken and getting a thumbs up, I hopped in the car to go get me some lemons.

Obviously, since I am putting this in my blog, it was a success.  The perfect blend of pepper and tart lemon from an easy and simple recipe.  I have found in my years of cooking - easy and simple - usually equate to yummy.  And in this instance that is exactly true!!  In the magazine, I labeled this recipe as a "Keeper".

So here is the recipe.  I don't know who to give credit to except some wonderful cook that perhaps posted this recipe on Pinterest.  Thank-You, whoever you are!!!

Lemon-Butter Chicken Breasts
Start to finish - 30 minutes

What you need:
6      skinless, boneless chicken breast halves  (1 1/2 to 2 pounds total)
1/2   cup all-purpose flour
1/2   teaspoon salt
2      teaspoons lemon-pepper seasoning
1/3   cup butter   (I used Imperial)
2      lemons, sliced  (I removed seeds)
2      tablespoons lemon juice  (I used bottled)
        Hot cooked rice   (optional - but I made some)

1. Place each chicken breast half between two pieces of plastic wrap.  (I put it in a ziploc bag) Using the flat side of a meat mallet, (I used a flat bottomed pan) pound each chicken piece lightly to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick.  Remove plastic wrap.  In a shallow dish stir together flour and salt.  Dip chicken into flour mixture, turning to coat.  Sprinkle chicken with lemon-pepper seasoning.  (I put it on both sides of the chicken pieces)

2. In a 12 inch skillet cook chicken, half at a time, in the butter over medium-high heat about 6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning once.  Remove chicken from skillet.  Add lemon slices to skillet; cook for 2 or 3 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once.

3. Return all chicken to skillet, overlapping pieces slightly and arranging lemon slices around the chicken.  Drizzle with lemon juice.  (I added about 1/2 tablespoon more lemon juice because there wasn't much liquid in the skillet.)  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until pan juices are slightly reduced.  Transfer chicken and lemon slices to a serving platter.  Pour pan juices over chicken.  If desired, serve with hot cooked rice.  Makes 6 servings.    (We had rice, a salad and rolls.)

Per serving 258 cal., 12 g fat (7 g sat. fat), 95 mg chol., 725 mg sodium, 8 g carb., 0 g fiber, 27 g pro.

Bon appetit!!!

Next up from that same magazine - Spiced Pumpkin Doughnuts.  I ask you - who doesn't love doughnuts and  - added bonus - it just so happens that National Doughnut Day is Friday, June 3rd, 2016.   Who is game to come over and make doughnuts with me?  

Who cares? God.

Elizabeth Cheney wrote a little poem called: 'Overheard in an Orchard'.  It goes like this:

Said the robin to the sparrow,

I should really like to know,

Why these anxious human beings

Rush about and worry so.

Said the sparrow to the robin,

Friend, I think that it must be,

That they have no heavenly Father

Such as cares for you and me.

In Matthew 6:26, Jesus uses the birds to teach a lesson.  He was speaking to crowds of people as well as his disciples.  Jesus said, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?"  

In the Bible this section of Chapter 6 is entitled Do Not Worry and most of the rest of the passage does address the subject of worry.  But when you get to the very bottom of verse 30 Jesus says"...O you of little faith."  I think this is an indication that Jesus equates worry with having little faith.  I certainly can't argue with that.

Here's the take away -

If God cares for little birds, making sure the world was created in such a way that birds have food and their needs are met, can we not assume that God will care for us and also meet our needs?  Jesus said it - "Are you not much more valuable (implied - to Him) than a bird?"  Can we not assume that we can count on God's loving care in every area of our lives?  Think about it...He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross for us.  With love that great would He actually ever turn His back on you? 

Let me rephrase that:  He loves you so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross for you.  Jesus willingly went to the cross for you and for me.  We have a heavenly Father who cares, all the time, no matter what!

Who cares?  God.

Believe it!

Pity Pool

If you don't know what the pity pool is, I will explain.  It's the pool we all sit in once in a while splashing around, having a grand old time feeling sorry for ourselves.  Come on, be honest, you sit in it once in a while, too!!  I know I do - way more than I have any right to.   Yesterday my pity pool was more like a tidal wave.  Seriously!!

Our community Garage Sale is coming up at the end of June.  You may or may not know that I moved way more preschool stuff than any preschool teacher could possibly use even if she taught school for 50 years.  That is no joke.  I am not proud of my preschool stuff hording disease, but it is a fact that we live with daily.   We moved into a home with a 3 car garage and my preschool stuff took up two sides of it.  You see what I mean?  My justification in feeding my disease was that I loved teaching, kids need variety to learn well, I had a strong desire to expose my students to as many methods of teaching a concept as possible (it was that no kid left behind idea - everybody learns differently) as well as trying to have them experience as many new things as possible.  If that is a teachers teaching philosophy - she is gonna have stuff!  Nuff said??

Anyway, back to the Garage Sale...with the upcoming garage sale and the looming stacks of preschool tubs and the fact that I have retired from being a preschool teacher, it seemed obvious, it was time to spread the preschool stuff wealth.  So we started sorting tubs and boxes - I looked in each one and designated it for the "keep" stack or the "garage sale" stack.  As the garage sale stack slowly grew and eventually filled a whole wall on one side of the garage, I grew more somber by the minute. And very soon, I had made a beautifully executed swan dive into -- the pity pool.

I looked at the stacks of preschool teaching materials that I was going to be parting with and the tears came.  Even now, I am teary.  "I need a moment", I told my husband and had to escape - walk away from the memories, walk away from the stuff that was a reminder that I will not be teaching again. From the time I was a little girl, I wanted to be a teacher.   That's all I ever wanted to be - well, beside a mom or a nun....(whaaaaat?)  The nun phase didn't last too long - in 4th grade Jimmy Simutis caused me to rethink that one.

First I walked the backyard, it's big so it took a while.  Then I sat in the sun, just thinking and mind talking to myself. (Does anyone else do that?) 'This is the end of an era and it is sad.'  'Being a teacher is who I am.'  'It's what I love doing.'  'I am not ready to stop being a teacher.' 'Why do I have to get rid of all my stuff?'  'Maybe I will teach again.'

Then, the voice of reason - probably the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:23) - said - "Get out of that pool and go dry yourself off......you taught preschool for a season, be grateful for the time you had as a teacher, God is doing a new thing in and with your life, it's time to move on, get a new attitude, girl, in other words -- get - over - it!!"

I realized I need to embrace the new things God has in store for me and let go of the past.  Oh I have always been on board for the new stuff, don't get me wrong, but I still kept hanging on to the old what ifs.   What if I teach again? What if I need it?  What if, what if, what if???   The lesson I learned in yesterdays pity pool was -- the past is the past - it's over, it's done - there's no what if.  I need to embrace the new with my head, with my heart and with both hands.   For I believe that perhaps hanging on to the past and the what ifs may have actually been holding me back from what God has in store in this new season of my life.  We shall see!

Apply this lesson to your life:  What might be holding you back from a new thing that God wants to do in your life?
No pity pools allowed!!


"Then Jesus gave them this illustration: "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment.  For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn't even match the old garment.  And no one puts new wine into old wine skins. For the new wine would burst the wine skins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wine skins." Luke 5: 36-38

"And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you.  I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.  And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws."  Ezekiel 36: 26 & 27

"Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes."  Ephesians 4:23 

    

Hope - the Anchor

Hope keeps people going. Hope keeps our dreams and desires alive. Hope keeps us encouraged and excited. (Hebrews 6:18) Hope is the anchor that keeps us secure and firmly rooted in what we believe to be the will of God for our lives. Hope keeps us dreaming! Romans 5:5 tells us, "And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." Yes, hope is the anchor and hope is of God.

If hope is the anchor - How exactly does an anchor work? What is the job of an anchor? The anchor on a boat is attached to a chain or rope. It is dropped into the water and the weight of it causes it to fall the very bottom. The boat is then put in reverse so that the anchor will lodge itself securely into the ground at the bottom of the water. That is how it works. But the job of the anchor is to keep the boat from drifting. It offers the boat stability.

Hope does the same thing for us. Hope keeps us from drifting away from what we long to be true for our future or for our present.

                                 HOPE is Having Optimistic Persistent Expectations.

Hope keeps us secure and stable. When hope is lost, so is the battle. Hope causes a person to make tough decisions for a better life. Hope causes a person to keep fighting for a better marriage. Hope causes a person to keep working on pulling weeds from that garden week after week. Hope is the anchor that inspires our persistence - our perseverance. In 1 Thess. 1:3 we read, "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." Hope says to us - just keep going, don't quit, don't stop believing.

The following story is kind of odd for a serious message, but here goes…

We have 2 dogs. We try really hard to take them for a daily 'walk'. We don't always succeed, however. We can't even say the word 'walk' around them or even use the word in a sentence about something totally different without their ears immediately perk up and them getting all excited. Besides that, the minute we start putting our shoes on, their tails start wagging and they begin following us around the house from room to room as if they are that little ball attached to a wooden paddle by an elastic stretchy cord. We often ask ourselves how do they know we are going to take them for a walk - we haven't said a word. Well, the answer is, they don't know for sure, but they are hopeful. The hope of a walk keeps them from letting us out of their sight for even a moment. The hope of a walk gets them all charged up. Hope usually does not disappoint them. Hope keeps people all charged up with expectancy, too!

Our dogs hope for a daily walk. People hope for other things - a better job, a baby, a new house, a husband. It could be anything. Hope is the anchor that keeps you from disbelief in what could be or what will eventually be. Don't ever lose hope! Not ever!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Hebrews 6: 19a 

   

In the Midst - there is Christ

While teaching preschool, my partner and I would hear the following words, often: "I can't do it!"
We would then remind the child - "Yes, you can" for the Bible says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Phil. 4:13  Sure enough given that little ounce of encouragement, the child would successfully write her name or cut out that shape, or build that tower.  It never failed.

As adults, sometimes we feel the same way - I can't say no.  I can't cook.  I can't serve.  I can't move.  I can't quit my job.  I can't make that change.  I can't solve that problem.  I can't. I can't. I can't.  But, yes, you can.  You can do whatever it is you think you can't do....through the strength that Christ offers. 

I think the words "I can't" should be stricken from the English language.  These words are an excuse not to try harder or try again or even try at all.  These words are an excuse not to trust God and rely on Him.  And that is not God's desire for us.  His desire is that we rely on Him for strength to do those things we believe we can not do on our own.  " I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength."  Not some things, not only certain things, but ALL things.

God will give you courage to say no.  He will give you wisdom to know if you should serve or move or quit your job or make a change in your life.  He will provide you with insight to solve a problem or surround you with people to support you and help carry that burden.

God did not promise that our lives would be easy.  In fact he warned us that they would be filled with trials.  (James 1: 2, 1 Peter 1: 6&7)
What He did promise was that in the midst - there is Christ.

In the midst of life's challenges and problems, there is Christ, who will give you the power to deal with those challenges and problems.

In the midst of life's challenges and problems, there is Christ, who will supply all you need.
  
In the midst of life's challenges and problems, there is Christ, who gives you strength to do ALL things.

Be encouraged:
In the midst - there is Christ.

Through Christ

You can do ALL things!

Celebrate Your Friend Day!!!

  I really don't know who declares that one day in January is National Pie Day or that the first Friday in June is National Donut Day - love that one for sure!!! - but there is no special notation on the calendar for Tuesday, May 25th.  Therefore, I hereby declare May 25th as Celebrate Your Friend Day!   (Can I do that??? - Ha Ha - I just did!!!) Take a moment and tell your friend you are glad he or she is in your life, that you appreciate them and value their friendship.

  Perhaps say a prayer for them or offer a blessing.

  Friendships are sacred relationships.

  God puts people in our lives for many reasons - each friendship is different.

  But each one is precious.

Celebrate Your Friend (or Friends)!!  

Sharing a Meal

There is nothing like sharing a meal with lots of friends or family.  Big meals are shared on holidays and special occasions like birthdays and graduations or showers.  People gather to share a meal after funerals or to celebrate the life of a loved one.  Sometimes large groups will get together to share a meal just for fun.  No matter when groups of people get together and eat it is always a special time.  It is the sharing of the meal that adds a new dimension to the process of eating.

The chef pours a little bit of him or herself into the planning and preparation of that meal.   That "little bit" is called love.  The hope is that those that eat the meal will be satisfied - both physically and emotionally.   And when the chef sees folks coming back for seconds or thirds of the meal and asking for leftovers, or hears those magic words, 'Thank you', that is the chefs ultimate reward.

During a shared meal, you find a chance to build relationships, learn more about each other, or have a 'hard' conversation.  There is laughter and sometimes tears.  These kinds of things just naturally happen when you are sharing a meal and the added bonus --you will be making memories.

One of the last things Jesus did with all His friends before He was arrested and died on the cross, was share a meal.  I find this interesting and enlightening.  

It was a holiday - the first day of the Festival of Unleavened bread.  The disciples ask Jesus where He wants them to prepare the Passover meal.  Jesus told them where to go, who to speak to and what to say.  And the disciples did as Jesus told them to do and prepared the meal in that house.  When evening came and it was time for the meal,  Jesus 12 friends gathered with him to enjoy the Passover meal.  There was conversation I am sure - maybe about the weather, maybe about politics and then Jesus tells them, "...one of you will betray me."  (Matthew 26:21)    I bet you could have heard a pin drop.  After the shock of what He said sinks in, each one in turn asks "Am I the one, Lord?"  Without saying a name, Jesus identifies His betrayer.  Then, "Judas, the one who would betray Him, also asked, "Rabbi, am I the one?"  "And Jesus told him, "You have said it."  (Matthew 26: 23 - 25)

Talk about a hard conversation.  Talk about learning more about each other.  Talk about being called out on something.

In this case, the time spent sharing a meal was immediately following all the time Jesus spent preparing His friends for His death.  I do not claim to know everything about Jesus, but what I do know is that He loved His friends and I think this last shared meal was as much for Jesus and for prophecy to be fulfilled as it was for the disciples.  It was important that Jesus spend this last amount of time with them.  He loved them and He wanted them to remember.

Now, perhaps the disciples were in denial or perhaps they did not fully understand it all, the Bible is not clear as to whether the rest even heard the conversation between Judas and Jesus, so maybe they were just glad to know they weren't the betrayer, but either way, they walked away from that meal satisfied physically and emotionally because when the meal was over "they sang a hymn and then went out to the Mount of Olives."  (Matthew 26: 30)

What we can learn from the last shared meal of Jesus is that it happened, it was important, it was satisfying and it was filled with love.  Following in Jesus footsteps means that we need to make sharing a meal happen, whether with family or friends or both.  It is as important to the partakers as it is to the chef.   And adding that extra ingredient of love will make the memories created all the more sweet and satisfying.  

Bon appétit!!

By Faith

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for."  Hebrews 11: 1 & 2

In laymen's terms, faith is believing in something you can not see.  It is easy to believe something you can see or touch, but not so easy to believe something you don't see.  I think that is why verse 6 of that same Book and Chapter tells us  "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."   God most certainly knows how hard it is for us to have faith.  As our Creator, He understands that in our human-ness we have difficulty with this.

There is a little book called What Is Faith?  It is a children's book published by Standard Publishing in a series called Happy Day Books.   In my classroom, I would read this book many times throughout the year to help the children understand about believing in God whom we can not see.  Each time I would read it I would see in more children, that proverbial light bulb of understanding go off.  It is easier for children to have faith because they have not had all the life experiences that cloud an adults ability to just trust.  One line in the book states "Faith is seeing eggs in a nest and trusting that they will hatch."  A child sees eggs in a nest and believes by faith that nothing will happen to them.  They will all hatch and be happy little birds.  An adult sees the eggs and often times thinks of the cat next door or the predicted windstorm coming.   Our mind has been jaded by those times when things did not go as we believed they would, jaded by those times we prayed and feel God did not answer and so it is more difficult for us to have faith.

By faith, however, we can trust - we can believe - we can seek and find - we can pray.  The job of the prayer of faith is to turn God's promises into our realities.  God does not promise that we will all win the lottery.  He promises that He will meet our needs.   The prayer of faith has the power to convert God's promises into performance.  By faith, Noah built a boat.  By faith, Abraham packed up and moved.  By faith, Moses stretched out his hand to part the Red Sea.  By faith, Joshua walked around a city and the walls of Jericho fell.   The same God that spurred these ancients to action is the same God that by faith, we can trust when we feel God's nudge to act.  Whether it is quit a job, move to a new location, start a charity...if God is leading you to do something...by faith, you can do it!   By faith, you can be sure of what you hope for and certain of what is yet unseen.  God does not lead us to failure, He leads to success.  (Proverbs 16:3) 

By faith, you can look for God and you will find Him.  By faith, you can know that God is with you even though you do not see Him. By faith, you can see God's love in the beauty of nature around you.  By faith, you can believe that God will work all things together for your good.  By faith, you can trust that God will keep His promises, because, He always does.

"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise." 
Hebrews 10: 23

 

Give God A Call

I called someone tonight that I have not spoken to in many, many years.  The moment I heard her voice, this flood of warmth came over me - a really good feeling full of memories from another time in my life and I had to smile.  I think I smiled through the entire conversation and am smiling as I write.

So much time has passed since we spoke or saw each other but the sound of her voice made me smile.  I learned that what was once her beloved hobby has now become her business.  Learning something new about her and hearing of her success and the excitement and contentment in her voice was a real joy.  And it just felt good to talk to her again and so I smile.

As I thought about this situation, I couldn't help but think about the times I have been far from God.  Either because of busyness or because I was lazy or forgetful or maybe because I didn't think I could or should approach Him.  I think we all go through those times where we feel far from God for whatever reason.

What I have learned, is that God is always waiting in the wings for me to come back.  Waiting for me with a voice that speaks the language I know, love and understand.  And when I do come back to Him and hear His voice again - I have to smile.  It feels good to spend time with Him again, to talk with Him again.  And quite often I learn something new about myself and about Him as my God, my Savior and my friend.

So, I say to those of you that might be feeling far from God - give Him a call and be prepared to smile and feel good again.   Go ahead - give God a call.  I guarantee He will answer on the first ring!


"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near." Isaiah 55:6

"Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear."  Isaiah 65:24

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

The Sandwich

This week we have 2 little visitors in our house.  They are both amazing eaters and so, I am having a blast making and trying things that I love to eat.  Hubby is a meat and potatoes kind of guy for dinner time.   But at lunch time, all bets are off.

I know many of you are Facebook Friends and so I am sure, like me, you see all the recipes that get posted.  Some look ridiculously complex, others look downright gross and still others look really yummy.

The second night of our 10 year old friends visit, I read her a recipe that I had seen on Facebook for an amazingly healthy sandwich for lunchtime.  (Like I said, lunch is mine to do as I wish...my little friend is a real foody so I was going to seize this opportunity to experiment...)
My young friends eyes got huge and she totally was on board for making this amazing sandwich. I truly did the happy dance.  This was so exciting.  So late that night after little sister was sound asleep, we trekked off to purchase our ingredients  We had made our list and we checked it twice.  Good old Walmart had all but one of the items on our list.  Being new to the area, I made a guess at the most likely place to find our final ingredient.  SUCCESS!!!  We were ready for lunchtime on Day 3.  And neither of us could wait!!!

Seeing as this is a Blog about Life and food is life giving and to our total delight, the sandwich was actually excellent on top of being healthy, I thought I would share what we made with you all. But first let me tell you that the conversation during our lunch was also amazing.  I watched a 10 year old formulate ideas of having a restaurant some day where she could serve healthy food to people.  This is how little things like lunch turn into big things for young minds to mull over and expand on, dream about and one day turn into multimillion dollar enterprises.  I mean really, who knows.... She was also super excited to pick a name for our sandwich.  Which we did.

The Bible tells us that we should teach our children the ways of the Lord.  But we should also teach our children the ways of Life.  It has been so much fun to introduce new foods, new ways, new ideas, new routines to these young ones.  I think they call it "expanding ones horizon".  I think I often forget that what is common or usual to me, may be totally new to someone else.   Jell-O for example...I grew up with Jell-O molds at every family party, barbecue and holiday.  But it can be a total unknown, even a little weird to someone else.

Anyway back to THE sandwich...Like I said, this Facebook idea was actually excellent and totally easy and extremely healthy to boot!  So here is what we did:  (I may have taken liberty on the ingredients - I was doing it from memory.)

Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium size soft avocado, pitted
1 small lemon (but you only use half of it...my young friend made lemonade out of the other half - so smart!!)
alfalfa sprouts
1 small tomato
handful of spinach leaves
Whole wheat bread - we got Great Grains Bakery - 100% Whole Wheat and Honey

Process:
Add the garbanzo beans and the avocado meat (not the skin) to a food processor. Squeeze the juice from half of the lemon into the food processor.  Then process to a spreadable consistency.  We made sure all the lumps were gone and it was perfect for eating and spreading consistency.

The Natalie Naturally Healthy Sandwich 
        To be introduced at the "Naturally Healthy Sandwich Shop" which will be open for breakfast 
        and lunch only -- so she can be with her family at night.
Using a spatula, spread the bean/avocado/lemon mixture onto the first slice of wheat bread.
Add the spinach leaves as the next layer
Add a thin slice or two of tomato as the next layer
Add a handful of alfalfa sprouts on top of the tomato
Using a spatula, spread the bean/avocado/lemon mixture onto the second slice of wheat bread.
Add the second slice of wheat bread to form a sandwich.
Cut in half and thoroughly enjoy!!!

BONUS:  We discovered that the bean/avocado/lemon juice mixture is also an excellent dip for tortilla chips.  She decided she was going to serve Tostito's Tortilla Chips at her restaurant (that's what G-Mi had) because they were so yummy!!  But the people could also have salsa.  I am guessing that might be our next food experiment!!!

What an exciting lunchtime!!!  I truly hope you are able to enjoy your family mealtimes as much as I enjoyed this lunch!!!  Now, That's Life!!

She ate the whole thing!!!